1. Field of the Invention
The ion relates generally to an artificial tree or plant and, more particularly, to an artificial tree which is compressible for storage.
2. Description of the Related Art
As part of the celebration of the Christmas season, it has become traditional to bring a pine tree into one's home and to decorate the tree with ornaments, lights, garland, tinsel, and other manner of symbolic and decorative items. The more tradition-bound among us obtain a cut, live pine tree and bring this live tree into the home for decorating and display over the Christmas season. Live trees, however, have become quite expensive and are recognized as a waste of environmental resources. In addition, such trees are messy, leaving sap and needles behind after removal, and require watering to prevent drying out and becoming a fire hazard. Each time a live tree is obtained, it must be decorated and at the end of the Christmas season the decorations must be removed. Since the needles have dried and become quite sharp by this time, removal of the decorations can be a painful process.
To overcome the disadvantages in the use of a live tree, a great variety of artificial trees, particularly for use during the Christmas season, are available. For the most part, these artificial trees are to be assembled for use and then disassembled after use. The assembly and disassembly process can be difficult and also time consuming. Even when disassembled, the known artificial trees occupy considerable space. Also, many of the known artificial trees require removal of the decorations prior to disassembly, thus adding decorating and un-decorating time to the time already required for assembly and disassembly. It can thereby become an overwhelming task to put up, decorate, and take down a Christmas tree for an individual who lacks the time or physical ability.
An artificial mechanical tree is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,054,696, which includes a pole member and a plurality of vertical, accordion-type limb sections. Each limb section includes a generally tubular member having upper and lower sleeves connected by a tubular section of compressible and expandable accordion-type material of rubber or plastic. The artificial tree limbs are attached to the accordion-type section by adhesive or alternately by a wire as a reinforcement. The tree limb sections are removed from the center pole for storage of the disassembled tree.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,058 discloses an artificial tree formed of a collapsible three-piece pole with a number of limb sections and interconnecting garlands. Each limb section has a central ring portion with a number of limb members extending radially outward in the central ring. The garlands interconnect the limb portions so that the ring portions are lifted from the top from the stacked position and slide along the pole, the garlands being tensioned to lift the next adjacent section until the tree is fully erect.
A pop-up artificial Christmas tree is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,123 in which an elongated trunk has a plurality of stationary sleeves attached thereto and a guide sleeve slidable to proximate and remote from an adjacent stationary sleeve. The tree is popped up much like the opening of an umbrella.